Ex-cop not facing charges for shooting teen burglary suspect

The retired police officer who shot a 16-year-old burglary suspect in the Grand Island area will not face charges, the state attorney's office said Friday.

Emmett Latimer and his wife were taking their daily stroll in their subdivision that sits between Leesburg and Eustis on Aug. 4. The walk took a turn when the 69-year-old retired Detroit officer allegedly spotted a teen burglarizing a home on Cavalier Court and decided to investigate.

After spotting the teen, Latimer borrowed a neighbor's gun to inspect and told Lake County deputies the minor charged at him outside the home. He said he had no choice but to shoot him, deputies said. The teen's father told the Orlando Sentinel a different story during an interview, claiming his son had been shot while trying to run away.

"A person is justified in using deadly force when he or she reasonably believes such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to him or herself or another," said Walter Forgie, supervising assistant state attorney in Lake County.

The teen was shot once in the shoulder and taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center. Forgie said doctors at the hospital were unable to tell if the teen was shot in the front or back of his shoulder.

Investigators said evidence supported Latimer's account of the shooting and deemed he was justified.

"Often times in a case like this, parties will give conflicting accounts about what happened, but all available evidence said the shooting was justified," Forgie said.

During the investigation, deputies found the teen had been allegedly instructed to break into homes by an older teen.

Sheriff's deputies arrested 19-year-old Qwontavious Morris Jones, of Leesburg, for allegedly driving the minor to the neighborhood and instructing him to break into unoccupied homes and steal televisions.

Jones was arrested was charged with burglary, grand theft and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.